Update September 2023: San Diego Unified is joining San Diegans for Gun Violence Prevention in reminding parents and guardians of their responsibility to prevent young people from gaining access to unsecured firearms.
Safe storage – meaning that guns are locked, unloaded, and kept separate from ammunition – is the law and helps keep our children and schools safe.
The City of San Diego’s Safe Storage of Firearms Ordinance, which went into effect in September of 2019, requires city residents to safely lock or store firearms that are inside their residences when the firearm is not within the immediate control of its owner or of another authorized user. Trigger locks, gun safes, or lock boxes are all viable safety options.
Keeping firearms securely stored helps prevent small children from accidentally accessing the firearm and unintentionally shooting themself or others; it also reduces the possibility that older children can use an unsecured firearm to commit school violence or suicide, scenarios that unfortunately happen every day in this country.
If you wish to learn more about firearm safety, safe gun storage, and other steps parents, students, and school staff can take to help reduce gun violence in our community, please visit our Gun Violence Prevention page online.